Love with you Doesn't Exist
by Scorpionislife
Summary: Little one-shot requested by follower. Drew comes back from Portland for a visit and is giving Paige a hard time... read story to find out the rest. (Just updated, this one should have over 3,000 words. It kept glitching for some reason, so for all who already read the beginning and found it confusing.)


**Love with you Doesn't Exist**

This is a little one-shot to give you guys something to read, while I finish up chapter four of Worth the Risk. For those of you who do read Worth the Risk, I plan on uploading by Monday night, but I'm not for sure. (Once school is over I will more than likely posting more frequently, because I won't have to worry about exams). This story idea was given to me by a viewer, and I will be sending that person a private message, because I'm not sure if she wants to be mentioned. Btw, if anyone would like me to write a one-shot or two-shot, I would be more than happy to do that for you, just send me a private message, and I will be sure to put it in my book of ideas.. literally. Oh and btw, idk if these actions are like really signs of sentimental value, I just kinda used them.

Ok, I'm going to shut up now and let you guys read this one-shot, enjoy.

Paige had just gotten back from dropping Ralph off at school. The team had all been tinkering with their own projects when she left, and we're doing the same when she got back- which she expected, if a case didn't interrupt them.

"Hi." Walter smiled, "was traffic worse than usual?"

Paige had known that someone would pick-up on the fact that she took twenty-minutes longer than usual. "Uh, no. I was just at a little meet up with someone."

"This early. Most people meet each other during lunch. Must have been urgent." Walter didn't really care if he was pressing. He wanted to know where the woman, he secretly fell in love with, was at and who she was with.

"She looked away for a couple seconds when you said 'most people', which probably means this isn't just some person. He/she has some kind of sentimental value, maybe an old friend." Toby always loved poking his head where it didn't belong, and he was always curious as to what their liaison's past was like.

Paige put a hand on her lower abdomen, "It's just a random person, from my old job, nothing sentimental."

"You touched your stomach when describing this so called friend from your old job. Indicating protection over a fetus, you met up with Ralph's dad didn't you? Shocking you haven't heard from him all this time." Toby was almost one-hundred percent sure his assumption was correct.

Paige sighed, "yes, I met up with Ralph's father, but I don't have any interest in letting him see Ralph. Especially after he expected us to drop everything we know and love and just leave. He's been gone for a month, and hasn't even called Ralph. It's basically like he's hurting him all over again."

"I agree, he might try to repeat history and then Ralph would be hurt again." Not only that, but Walter wasn't going to let him interfere with his family, and potentially hurt them. Even if they weren't blood-related, they were still his family. Walter knew he was being a bit redundant, but he wanted to make sure Paige didn't change her mind.

A couple hours went by and there were still no cases, and Cabe had already called to clarify that there will more than likely be none. So, Walter decided to work on his rocket. It was nearing the time to pick Ralph up from school, and since there were no cases, Paige called the babysitter and told her she would pick Ralph up from school instead.

"Okay, I'm gonna go pick Ralph up from school. I should be back soon." She grabbed her purse and keys and started to head towards the door.

"Wait, uh. Why don't I drive." It was making Walter crazy just sitting around in the garage all day and seeing Ralph always brought him a sense of joy.

Paige gave him a big smile, "sure."

She tossed Walter the keys and they both headed to the car, receiving awkward looks from the rest of the team, especially Toby.

There was complete silence for about two-minutes of the car ride. "Walter, do you think anything bad could happen to Ralph if I don't accept his father's request?"

"Nothing bad will happen, the school doesn't even know about him, so he wouldn't be allowed to pick him up from school, that is if he even remembers where his school is. Plus, the rest of his time is spent with friends and us, we will always protect Ralph, no matter what it takes." Walter wanted to make sure she didn't worry, because he could delete any trace of him if he even attempted to hurt Ralph. Not to mention, he didn't have any brain power compared to Walter so there were slim chances that he could get anything past Walter or the team did.

"You're right," Paige wiped the shed tear away and fanned her face to regain self-control.

Walter glanced at her to make sure she was okay and noticed she had a small bruise on her wrist, anger flushed through him. Before he said anything he pulled into the parking lot of Ralph's school and quickly backed the car into a spot. "What's that?" He grabbed Paige's wrist lightly to examine the bruise further.

"Oh, uh, well, let's just say baseball players have a tight grip." She tried to play it off as a joke but it wasn't working, "Walter it's fine, it didn't really hurt." She lied,

he basically yanked her wrist off.

"No, it's not fine. Low life's who abandon their family and then return with demands enforced with violence is not fine. Why didn't you tell us." Walter was clearly angry.

Paige was confused as to why he was so angry, she's the one who got manhandled. "Walter it's okay, I'm okay. He's not going to come near any of us ever again."

"Yes, and that's great. But that doesn't mean this is okay."

"Okay, the situation is over. Let's just move on because he's officially out of our lives."

"Fine, but you should probably pull your jacket down or come up with a story because people might question that mark." He slowly released her hand and checked his watch, "Ralph will be getting out any minute now."

A couple seconds later the bell rang and Ralph came running to the car. A smile grew ear to ear when he saw Walter and his mother. He hopped in the backseat on the right side. "Hi mom, hi Walter."

"Hi, sweetie." Paige threw him a grin.

"Hey, buddy. What do you say, we work on the rocket once we get back to the garage?"

"Okay." Ralph's smile widened.

Once they arrived back at the garage, Paige sauntered towards her desk, to return to the paperwork she was doing. Walter and Ralph did as planned, and started working on the rocket. Toby was reading two books at once, while pacing the area behind his desk. Happy was welding some metal pipes together, and Sylvester was working on some algorithms. All was well within the cyclone.

There was a loud thumping against the main entrance to the garage. Paige jumped out of her seat and looked through the newly installed peep-hole. The rest of the team found their way to the entrance as well. Paige jumped quickly and her face flushed. "Sylvester, take Ralph upstairs, to an area where he won't be able to hear or see anything and keep him occupied and within sight."

"Okay." Sylvester ignored this strange situation and did what he was told.

"Everyone else act natural, just sit at your desks or something." She was talking quietly to make sure the man on the other side couldn't hear.

Everyone quickly did as told. Walter especially was prepared to punch this guy in the face if it was Ralph's father.

Paige opened the door. "What do you want, Drew?"

"I just wanted to talk, we left on bad terms that day and I want to see Ralph."

"What is even left to talk about, and your not seeing my son. It was your decision to go to Portland, our lives are here now. I'm not letting you hurt Ralph again." Paige was on the verge of tears.

Drew barged through the door, making Paige stumble a little. Walter got up and raced over to Paige, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just need to sort this out. You guys should go so we can talk about everything and make sure he stays gone for good. All of you go to the loft." She whispered.

Walter walked past Drew and made a motion, that made everyone get up and head to the loft, including himself.

Once Paige thought they were out of earshot she started to talk. "Look, I don't know what to tell you. You can't expect us to just pack up and leave. Our lives are here, Ralph is starting to make friends and he's thriving. We can't leave."

Drew had frustration cross his face, "that may be part of the reason why you want to stay. But. I'm not blind or stupid Paige, you obviously have feelings for that geeky boss of yours." Drew watched Paige's cheeks flush, "I'm right aren't I."

Paige looked away and sighed, "yes, you're right." She redirected her vision on Drew, "that is part of the reason why I stayed, but Ralph's well-being is the majority of my decision. He's not safe with you," she pointed to her bruise. "You're abusive. How could I allow my child to even be near someone like you."

"Someone like me, I've never laid a finger on that kid. You want him to be raised by Walter, some geek, who plays on a computer all day. You are part of this place, they make you feel special, they tell you your special. They're lying to you, they don't want what's best for you or Ralph. They just care about getting their money from each job."

Tears started to pour from Paige's eyes, "don't you dare say that, Scorpion is the best thing that ever happened to Ralph and I. If I never met this team, Ralph still wouldn't have connected with me. Ralph and I would still be broke, struggling to get by. Barely able to keep a roof over our heads. Without having a college degree, there's not many jobs you can get. Not to mention I would have never know of Ralph's full potential. Don't even start to talk about Walter, he's been more fatherly toward him in the last year than you have his entire life. The whole team, especially Walter, cares about us. As we care about them."

"Do you really think Walter cares about you?" Drew chuckled, "Paige, get your head out of your ass. He's never going to like you, let alone love you. Why even bother. Matter of fact he probably hates you because you are such a disappointment to the team. These people probably do all the work and you just sit there and get paid for doing nothing. How would Walter put it, your inefficient."

Those words stung Paige, she couldn't seem to get past the fact that he might have been right. She never really helped the team. They could get by without her. "No, they care about Ralph, they would never do anything to hurt him." They care about Ralph, Walter already verified that, but Drew had a way of getting to her head.

"You're one stupid bitch. Why do you think you're so special to them. If you came with me to Portland, you would be able to have someone who truly cares about you. Listen, Walter doesn't love you and he never will."

Once Walter got up the stairs, he directed Toby and Happy to go in the room with Sly and Ralph and he would sit near the opening, so he would be able to monitor the situation. The conversation didn't start off slow at all, anger in both of their voices were rising rapidly.

All of the sudden his name was being thrown into the sentences Drew was using. He was saying that Paige was in love with him. Unexpectedly, Paige verified his statement. He felt a knot in his stomach. Walter went deep in thought, running over all the different possibilities of a relationship with Paige.

Suddenly, loud screams pulled him out of his reverie. He heard a loud snap.

He ran down the stairs to find Drew clenching his jaw, "you little bitch. How dare you even think about smacking me."

Walter ran up to Paige, she was crying very visibly. "Get out of my garage." Walter screamed. Anger was bubbling through him.

Drew chuckled, "I'm not leaving without my son and Paige."

"It takes more than producing to actually be a father. Ralph isn't going anywhere and neither is she." Walter was getting quite protective. He wanted to make it clear that the two most important people in his life weren't going anywhere.

"I'm not sure who you think you are, I'm his father and you have no say in wether or not he stays or goes."

"You've been gone for years, decided to come back just to take them away from their home. They don't belong with you, Scorpion is their home, it always will be. Now get the hell out of my garage and don't even think about coming back or else I will call Homeland and have them arrest you." Walter didn't really feel like dealing with Drew's shenanigans. He knew that with his past battery charge, anything involving the government would terrify him.

Drew stood there for a minute, before finally turning around and leaving.

"Is that really the reason you stayed?" Walter finally worked up the strength to say.

Paige couldn't look into Walter's eyes, "yes, partially. I knew, once you were about to fall off that cliff's edge, that I wouldn't be able to live in a life without you. Neither would Ralph, the radio station was talking about how they thought there were no scenarios where you would make it out alive." She let the tears stream down her face, "I didn't believe them because I believed that Scorpion would find a way for you to get out, but Ralph... he was crying. He couldn't hold back the tears. I've never seen him cry, other than when he was a baby. From that moment, I decided to stay because not only would neither of us be able to live without you, but I realized we're safest around you. Drew would probably lose his temper, if Ralph lives with him for the next 10 years, considering how he has loopholes to many things, like you do. I guess to Drew choosing to stay, was my way of saying I choose you over him. But, after everything he's done recently, he's proven himself right."

Walter was looking for the right words to say. After the long explanation, he didn't feel like there were words to say. So, instead of using words he decided to use actions. He grabbed Paige's face in his palms and looked her in the eyes, before kissing her hard on the mouth.

Paige didn't back away, she simply depended the kiss. She combed her fingers through Walter's hair.

They slowly separated, realizing air was necessary. Walter gave her a weak smile, "Paige, I think I'm in love with you, too."

She pinned him up against the wall, and they exchanged wet, messy kisses. She realized that the team and her son were waiting up stairs. "We should probably go and let the team know that everything's fine, then I'll get Happy to babysit."

"Okay," they fixed their slightly lopsided clothes and hurried up the stair way. They found the team in the kitchen area. "Alright guys, everything is fine. He's gone and everything's under control."

Ralph's concerned eyes found Paige's, "mom, was it my father downstairs?"

Paige couldn't quite find the words to explain, so Walter opted into being the one to have the conversation, "yes, it was your father. How did you know?" He wanted to tread lightly, and not give away unknown information.

"I heard the whole thing, even all the way up here, the screaming was extremely loud." Ralph wanted to be just as honest as Walter was, it would only help the situation.

"I'm sorry Ralph, I don't think that you're going to see your father anytime soon."

"It's okay, he's never really connected with me, and even when he did it was because you helped him. Besides I already had a dad, by the time he showed up."

Paige couldn't believe the words he was using, she agreed with everyone of them, but it still was interesting to see Ralph open up.

Walter smiled, knowing he was talking about him. The next thing he knew, Ralph ran up to hug him. Not only did he return the hug, but he lifted him off the ground. After a minute, Walter returned Ralph to the floor.

"I think maybe, all three of us should have a little sleep over tonight, instead of just the two of us." Walter whispered to Paige.

"I think so too."

Walter picked Ralph back up, "how about we go grill some burgers on the roof and then we'll all sleep in the loft tonight, even Happy and Toby and Sylvester, if they want."

"Happy and I actually have a date to attend, so we won't be able to accompany you." Toby winced as Happy elbowed him in the side, obviously the rest of the team wasn't supposed to know about their little date.

"Sorry, but I'll pass. I'm going go visit Megan at the hospital and then head to my apartment."

About twenty minutes later. Sly, Toby and Happy left the garage. Paige and Walter grabbed the hamburger meat and buns, and Ralph grabbed the condiments. Once they grilled and ate their food, Walter put pillows and blankets on the small couch in his room, for Ralph.

Ralph had pajamas at the garage in case of times like these, and Walter let Paige borrow a pair of sweatpants and a tee-shirt.

It was about 1:00 AM, Paige was sleeping on Walters chest originally, but ended up lying on the other end. While he laid there with his eyes closed trying to doze off.

Ralph couldn't sleep either, probably because the couch was extremely uncomfortable. He walked across the room to Walters side of the bed. He tapped on his shoulder, "Walter, are you awake?"

Walter's eyes fluttered open instantly, "Ralph, are you okay?"

"I couldn't sleep. The couch is a little uncomfortable." He didn't want to make it sound like he was dying, so he decided to say 'a little uncomfortable' rather than 'extremely'

"Yeah, it's pretty uncomfortable. You can come sleep up here if you want. I'll remember to buy a bed for the extra room, so you can sleep there whenever you sleepover."

"Okay." He climbed over Walter's legs and laid in between his mother and Walter. He pulled the covers over him and snuggled up against Walter's side.

"Goodnight, Walter. I love you." Ralph mumbled.

Walter was baffled by his last statement. "Goodnight, I uh... love you, too, buddy."


End file.
